ISO 27001 Incident Management Procedure Template

Introduction

In the digital world today, information security has evolved from being a technical necessity to a means of establishing trust, compliance, and the backbone for business continuity. The organizations face a continuous barrage of cyber threats, from phishing and ransomware to data breach and insider threats. Management of security incidents fast and effectively often makes the difference between a minor hiccup and a catastrophic loss.

This is where the ISO 27001 Incident Management Procedure Templates come in. They provide a structured, repeatable, and auditable means of detecting, responding to, and learning from Security Incidents. For you as a compliance manager, IT leader, or business owner, learning to implement and optimize this procedure is critical for ensuring protection of your organization assets, reputation, and future.

What Is ISO 27001 Incident Management?

ISO 27001 stands for the international standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). Fundamentals of the standard is the requirement for organizations to have an effective incident management process: a systematic procedure of handling security events, minimizing damage, and preventing recurrence.

ISO 27001 incident management is more than just reacting to threats. It is a proactive, continuous process of detection, response, analysis, and improvement. In the end, with the right processes implemented in place, an organization is expected to react instantly when something goes wrong, reduce the effect of the mismanagement, and learn from the event. 

Importance Of Incident Management Procedure Template

A well designed and crafted incident management procedure template as per ISO 27001 standard, aids the organization in efficiently managing the security incidents that occur in the organization. There are many pros of preparing a well structured document for incident management but a few are listed below as follows; 

• Consistency: Ensures the stability and balanced approach in handling any unforeseen incidents taking place in the organization. 
  
  
• Efficiency: During any incidents, time and action plays a vital role. Any defensive approach or actions we take to reduce the damages caused by the incidents, has to be efficient enough and should be backed with right solutions. Thus, the incident management procedure describes the comprehensive approach on handling the events. 
  
  
• Compliance: Incident management procedure documents also help companies to showcase their resilience towards any sort of information security management system incidents. And during the auditing phase, auditors would typically take a detailed look at the incident management process and thereby verify if there are any incidents that happened earlier in the organization before the implementation of ISO 27001 standard. 
  
  
• Continuous Improvements: This section focuses on the learnings from previous incidents and improvements introduced in the incident management procedure to enhance its efficiency. 

What Are The Key Requirements For Creating A Successful Template?

• Objective and Scope: Defines what constitutes a security incident and to what systems, data or business units are included. It thus scopes incidents and procedures given to everyone.
  
  
• Roles and Responsibilities: Defining the clear roles and responsibilities will enhance the implementation and improve the performance of incidents management procedure.
  • Incident Response Team
    
    
  • Incident Lead
    
    
  • Forensics Analyst
    
    
  • Communications Liaison

Capture responsible individuals and escalation paths for owning and embedding fast actions.

• Classification of Incidents: Incidents are to be classified and categorized in order to have a structured approach on handling them. Classifications can be done as follows;
  • Incident Types- among others, malware, unauthorized uses, data leak
    
    
  • Impact Severity- High, Medium, Low
    
    
  • Incident Frequency/Likelihood: How likely the incidents are going to happen and what’s the frequency? Are these incidents actually unforeseen or backed by seasonal trend based on the nature of business and industrial background? 
    
    
  • Affected Systems: Impacts determined by affected systems, compromised data, business interruption
    
    
  • This classification leads the incident management team to prioritize and plan in resource allocation.
    
    
• Detection and Reporting: This would address how incidents would be detected (by means of monitored tools, employee reporting) and subsequently reported which has to include; 
  • Monitoring systems
    
    
  • Reporting channels
    
    
  • Initial deadlines for reporting 
    
    
  • Incident report requirements
    
    
• Response and Containment: Detail step-by-step actions to be carried out for:
  • Initial assessment
    
    
  • Containment provisions (e.g., isolating Affected Systems)
    
    
  • Communication strategies (internal and external)
    
    
  • Mitigate damages and further spreading.
    
    
• Investigation and Root-Cause Analysis: Specify the process for: 
  • Evidence collection, 
    
    
  • Root analysis investigation, 
    
    
  • Forensic protocols. 

This ensures a clear understanding of what happened and particularly why, which is essential to preventing recurrence. 

• Recovery and Remediation: Formulate processes for: 
  • Restoration of compromised systems 
    
    
  • Validation of data integrity 
    
    
  • Application of fixes or patches 
    
    
  • Verification on the remediation to  check if it was successful
    
    
• Post-Incident Review 

After every incident, gather for a lesson-learned exercise. Document what worked, what not to improve on next time. This keeps the continuous improvement loop going for ISO 27001.

Step-by-Step: Implementation of your ISO 27001 Incident Management Procedure

• Step 1: Understand the Standard

Understanding ISO 27001 standard is a critical factor in this context.. As the Information Security Management System provides comprehensive protection in all possible ways. Also, there is specific Annex A which speaks about incident management concept and how it shall be aligned towards the standard. So, paying close attention to Annex A (A.5.24 - 5.28 in the 2022 version), will enhance the productivity and efficiency of the whole organization. 

• Step 2: Establish Your Incident Response Team

Incident Response Team (IRT) plays a vital role in handling and managing the security events. It is the responsibility of the leadership team to identify key roles and responsibilities and make sure every team member understands his/her role and has access to requisite resources and training.

• Step 3: Define the Scope and Objectives

Setting up the scope and objectives of incidents is considered a vital step. Because, the scope helps the incident response team in understanding the boundaries and areas of responsibility. This also helps during the training process so that each member of the incident response team is well instructed on his/her deliveries. Objectives, on the other hand, provide the framework on the outcome expected by performing these counter responses against any security incident. 

• Step 4: Write the Procedure

Write your detailed procedure that should address the following items:

• • Incident detection and reporting
    
    
  • Classification and prioritization
    
    
  • Response and escalation
    
    
  • Communication with stakeholders
    
    
  • Evidence collection
    
    
  • Restoration and review
    
    
• Step 5: Prepare Related Materials

Create templates or documents for recording and documenting the relevant information for the potential incidents identified by the leadership team. This will act as an evidence for further improvements in framing the resilience and also, during audits, an external auditor would likely be referring to these documents to understand and measure the level of preparedness set by an organization. 

Documents or materials can be prepared for below mentioned topics; 

• • Incident reporting
    
    
  • Investigation
    
    
  • Stakeholder communications
    
    
  • Post-incident review
    
    
• Step 6: Train Your Team

Employees of the Incident Response Team are to be consistently provided training and simulations or drills. It is required by them to know the procedure well in advance and be prepared for actual incidents. This avoids the last minute rush, confusions in executing the roles, and improves the efficiency of managing the security incidents in line with ISO 27001 standard. 

• Step 7: Test And Improve

Regularly simulate incidents to test the procedure. Utilize what you learn through feedback and evaluation processes to be implemented and improve your approach towards handling the real-time incidental scenarios. 

Real Time Example Of Incident: Action Towards Ransomware Assault

Imagine a ransomware attack on your organization. This might look similar to what ISO 27001 would prescribe in terms of incident management procedure templates:

• Identify: Detect and identify abnormal system behavior or alerts. Identification of the Ransomware  Attack Phase (as per ISO 27001 standard context)
  
  

  • Initial signs and symptoms

    • Unusual User Complaints: An employee may complain that he or she cannot access files or systems or complains of seeing files with strange names or extensions.
      
      
    • Ransom Messages: The appearance of ransom notes or messages on a desktop or in folders, stating that files have been encrypted, with instructions on how to make the payment is a clear indication.
      
      
    • System Behavior: Systems may slow down, become unresponsive, or return an error message when a user attempts to open a document or launch an application. 

• • Automated Monitoring and Detection

    • Security Monitoring Tools: The ISO 27001 offers some guidance to assist organizations that have to do their monitoring controls (e.g. SIEM, endpoint detection) to alert security teams regarding suspicious activities like large-scale file encryption or unauthorized access. 
      
      
    • Log Analysis: The abnormal activities shown by the review of system logs and security logs would include the creation of new administrative accounts, failed login attempts, or the disabling of security controls.

• • Incident Reporting

    • User Reporting Channels: Employees must report any abnormality immediately through the use of established communication channels in the context of the incident management procedure.
      
      
    • Triggering the Incident Response Plan: Once the suspicion of an incident arises or an incident is confirmed, the response team is activated, and the formal incident response steps are initiated.

  • Verification and Classification

    • Technical Verification: The IT or security teams verify the incident by examining affected systems, confirming encryption, and identifying ransomware signatures or artifacts. 
      
      
    • Classification: The classification of the incident entails the type (ransomware), severity (e.g. widespread encryption, impacting business), and affected assets in accordance with its ISO 27001 verdicts.
      
•  Analyze: Review incident logs and records to determine the extent of the compromise. When you analyze the security incident in ISO 27001, you are investigating the occurrences in detail to find out:

  • How did the attack occur?

• • What systems or data have been affected?

• • What is the extent and impact of the compromise?

• • What is the root cause, and what vulnerabilities have been exploited?

This phase is crucial for the successful containment, eradication, and future prevention of similar incidents.

Stages in Analysis Phase as per ISO 27001 Incident Management Procedure 

• Evidence Gathering

  • Gather logs from compromised systems, including firewalls and security tools.

  • Preserve forensic data to rule out any contamination or loss.

  • Safeguard copies of ransom notes, suspicious files, and communications.

• Determining the Attack Vector

  • Establish how ransomware entered the environment
    (phishing email, remote desktop protocol, software vulnerability, etc.)

  • Look at email gateways, endpoint security alerts, or network traffic.

• Assessing Scope and Impact

  • Create a list of all devices, systems, and files affected.

  • Verify whether sensitive or regulated data was accessed or exfiltrated.

  • Consider the impact on business operations (downtime, lost productivity, etc.)

• 4. Identification of Ransomware Variant

  • Use the threat intelligence feed and malware analysis tools to pinpoint the specific ransomware variant.

  • Look for any known decryption tools or solutions.

• Root Cause Analysis

  • Identify weaknesses in security and policy which allowed the attack to occur.

  • Determine if the existing controls (patching, backups, access management) were bypassed or simply not enough.

• Reporting Findings

  • Document the findings in a structured incident report.

  • Inform management, legal, and other stakeholders of details per the ISO 27001 procedure.

Why Is Analysis Important Under ISO/ISO 27001?

• Supports Informed Decision-Making: Enables the response team to select the most suitable containment and remediation measures.

• Takes Care of Compliance: Incidents are analyzed for trends, root causes, and improvements for the ISMS as required by ISO 27001 Annex A. A.5.26.

• Prevention of Recurrence: Organizations resolve vulnerabilities and reinforce defenses by understanding how the attack succeeded.

Contain: Isolate the devices infected from the network. Containment, in the sense of ISO 27001 event management, refers to the first immediate actions aimed at limiting the propagation and impact of a security event-a ransomware attack, for instance, after it has been detected and analyzed. Preventing further damage to systems, data, and business operations is aimed at preparing for eradication and recovery.

Why Containment Is such a Crucial Element:

• Prevents damages from extending further: Unlike previous and more traditional attacks, ransomware can move laterally across entire networks at amazing speeds, rapidly encrypting more files and filesystems.
  
  
• It protects even critical data: Quick containment can effectively save sensitive or almost mission-critical information from compromising. 
  
  
• Decreases Downtime: The faster you contain, the greater the chances of minimizing disruption in your organization. 
  
  
• Provides Compliance: According to ISO 27001 (Annex A.16 / A.5.27) standard requires organizations to respond promptly and timely to the incidents and manage the outcomes showing negative impacts.

Eradicate: Remove malicious files and close vulnerabilities. The eradication phase in the context of the ISO 27001 incident management procedure involves completely removing the ransomware and its root cause from every affected system while ensuring that no trace is left that could trigger reinfection.

Term Eradication In ISO 27001 Incident Management

The eradication measures entail:

• Removing malware (the ransomware itself) from infected machines.
  
  
• Patching vulnerabilities or exploits that led to the attack.
  
  
• Closing security gaps to prevent a recurrence of the event.

This phase follows containment and precedes recovery, thus forming an important bridge between the halting of the attack spread and the restoration of normalcy.

• Eradication Steps
  
  
  • Remove all Malicious Software
    • Use anti-malware tools with manual methods in the complete removal of the ransomware from all compromised workstations and servers.
      
      
    • Conduct full scans with updated anti-virus tools to ensure the systems have been cleared of all malicious files or processes.
      
      
  • Address the Root Case
    • Patch software vulnerabilities used by the ransomware.
      
      
    • Either update or reconfigure firewall rules, access controls, and user permissions to close these exploited vectors.
      
      
    • Remove or disable compromised user accounts.
      
      
  • Clean Up and Harden Systems
    • Remove any abandoned files (e.g., ransom notes, temporary files, scripts) left by the attacker. Reset passwords and enforce stronger authentication where necessary.
      
      
    • Reinstall operating systems or restore clean system images if the malware cannot be completely removed.
      
      
  • Verify Complete Removal
    • Conduct follow-up scans and monitoring to confirm eradication.
      
      
    • Review logs and system behavior for any signs of persistence or re-infection attempts.

ISO 27001 Controls And Best Practices For Eradication

• Annex A 8.7 – Protection Against Malware: Protect against malware through the implementation of anti-malware defenses, regular scans, and user training within the Organization which will be able, thus, to prevent and respond to malware incidents.
  
  
• Incident Response Plans: in addition to documenting decision-making and response processes, these plans must specify who is responsible for what, and include a detailed eradication plan.
  
  
• Continuous Improvement: The culture of continuous improvement entails assessing the eradicated incident to analyze controls and reduce the chances of a re-emergence of similar attacks.

Conclusion

An excellent ISO 27001 incident management process template should never be an exercise in box-ticking; rather, it should stand as one of your principal resources for keeping your organization's data, brand, and future safe. 

Most effectively, incident management should not create a reactive mess but rather a well-prepared strategic opportunity, with roles identified, the right tools in place, and a culture of continuous improvement encouraged.